LAGGING COOLIES 5 



ground, nine marches distant. There was no made road 

 then, only a rough mountain path, and travel was so slow- 

 that complete arrangements for the long march had to be 

 made at Astor. I improved the occasion by visiting u 

 " globe-trotter " encamped in an apple orchard close by. 

 The gentleman and his " pal," who was out shooting at 

 the time, were on their journey round the world, and had 

 taken -Kashmir in the usual course. They had been here 

 for a month, and had bagged five stags and a black bear. 

 People say, however, that they found two of the stags buried 

 in last winter's snow. They dug out the carcases and appro- 

 priated the heads ! This is one way of making a good bag. 

 A start was made at last, and Tragbal stage reached at 

 half-past three, after a steady ascent of six hours. Though 

 it was the end of April, snow still lay in great patches, 

 and a level spot for the little tent was difficult to find. 

 The ascent from this point was less steep than the one 

 below, but the expanses of snow increased, and nothing 

 could be seen but white sheets on all sides. The path wound 

 along the hillsides, and I enjoyed my walk in the bracing 

 atmosphere, though the wind was cold and cutting, and 

 tramping in the snow almost froze my feet. The descent 

 on the other side of the pass was steeper and shorter, 

 but we had to travel for several miles along a narrow 

 valley entirely covered with snow : the coolies lagged, and 

 I was hungry; strong measures were necessary, and I birched 

 the men on the legs with thin and stinging twigs from the 

 trees. The effect was stimulating, and also lasting. 7 Below 

 the pass I met a Panjabi fakir going to Kashmir. He 

 said he was once a Hindu ; he had left home twelve years 

 ago, and had wandered ever since. He said he had studied 

 all religions, and talked with some knowledge of the Bible 

 and the Koran. His emaciated body was covered with a 

 tattered coat and a pair of torn pajamas ; in his hand he 



